The eminently likeable and unequivocally popular J.T. Poston probably isn’t quite as well-liked among his PGA Tour peers after the very selfish act he perpetrated Sunday in Las Vegas.
In a proverbial rich-get-richer development that seemed appropriate in the Nevada desert, Poston arrived at the $7 million Shriners Children’s Open playing with house money and went on to cash in big, collecting his third career PGA Tour title with a nervy one-stroke victory over stubborn Doug Ghim. After leading by as many as four strokes on the inward nine at TPC Summerlin, Poston needed to coax in a four-foot par putt on the final green to collect $1.26 million and a few angry stares.
Poston, you see, was one of nine players in the field who finished among the top 50 during the FedEx Cup regular season. That means he is guaranteed starts in all of the tour’s 2025 signature events, so heading out west for his first start since the BMW Championship was a chance to add a little gravy to a season that wasn’t exactly a feast but also didn’t leave him hungry. Well, he went whole hog, and the win added further delights to his 2025 plate in the form of berths in the Masters and the Sentry.
“It’s never easy winning out here on tour. Today was no different. It was nice,” the laconic Poston said. “I had a few holes to finish the third round this morning, and my goal was to try and snag the lead and maybe even build on it before the end of the third round. Was able to do that, which was great. Then got off to a great in the final round. A dream scenario start, but from then on it felt a little bit scrapie and trying to be aggressive and smart because guys were making birdies. Thankfully, was just enough there at the end.”
Poston wasn’t alone in top 50 players taking a hefty number of points off the board for those battling it out in the FedEx Cup Fall portion of the schedule that will determine the remaining 55 players who will retain their exempt status for next year. Davis Thompson and first-round leader Taylor Pendrith finished T-5 and eighth, respectively.
But Poston, a North Carolina native now living in Georgia, made off with the biggest haul, converting a three-stroke lead after 54 holes into his first win since the 2022 John Deere Classic.
Because of a lengthy delay on Friday due to high winds, Poston had to complete his third round earlier Sunday, and he birdied three of his remaining five holes to break an overnight tie with Ghim at 15 under par. A final-round four-under 67 was just enough as Poston completed 72 holes in 22-under 262 total.
Ghim, who lives in Las Vegas and has ample reps at TPC Summerlin, made it interesting as he sought his first tour title. When Poston birdied the 15th hole from 12 feet, he was four free of the field and cruising.
Then Ghim birdied 16 from three feet after Poston missed a six-foot birdie try.
Then Poston pulled a shaky four-foot par putt at 17 to drop a shot.
And then Ghim went flag hunting at 18, sticking his approach to six feet. Poston had played safe, finding the green 44 feet short and right of the pin. His lag putt left him another four-footer. Gulp. When Ghim rolled in his birdie, Poston had to steel himself for the game-winner. Which he calmly did. Or so he seemed to suggest.
“I told myself this is what you dream of. You got a putt to win on the PGA Tour. Just try and forget about the last two [putts],” said Poston, who entered the week 64th in the world. “Didn’t make very good strokes on either of them. I told myself I’ve made a million of these and just do one more.”
“Yeah, obviously, this being one of my home courses, I have a decent amount of memories of stuffing it close to beat some of my buddies,” Ghim, 28 said after closing with a 65 and posting his best career finish. “I did everything I could. Haven’t had the best history so far in final rounds and final groups, so it’s definitely going to be a little badge on my chest I guess in a sense that the next time I get in position I’ll have that in my memory bank of knowing I’ve done it before. At the end of the day, you’re trying to beat the leader in the final round, and I did that. Just came up one short. Yeah, proud of the effort.”
So, too, was Poston proud after finishing T-3 a year ago in Vegas, one of his favorite events and obviously the reason for his appearance. He won for the first time as a father after his daughter Katherine Scott was born in March, and he got back on track after an early season push in which he recorded all of his four previous four top-10 finishes by April.
“I would say the perspective is key in performing out here,” Poston said. “I think at times I was definitely guilty of taking it a little too seriously maybe or being a little too hard on myself. Since Scottie was born I feel like that’s been a little bit of a 180, and just realising that golf is not the most important thing. It’s honestly far from it. That has given me a little bit more freedom on the golf course, knowing regardless of how I play I get to go home and grab her, hug her, and be with her. And so that’s a huge win in my book.”
Well, some wins are sweeter than others. Yeah, hard to not like the guy.
Main Image: Orlando Ramirez
